Things we do for love: Episode 1

smallville (55)in #fiction • 6 years ago

Adams bumped into the one room apartment he shared with his mother. Despite the irritation he felt from the sticky sweat that graced his body, he still flashed a smile at his mother. Revealing his beautiful set of teeth that looked just exactly like his dead father'.

Life hadn't been easy for Sarah and her son after the death of her husband,Collins.
The reality of sudden poverty dawned on them and the mistake Sarah made was she didn't prepare for the rainy days.
All the earnings she made from her petty job was just enough for food and shelter. If she had to take up other responsibilities, Sarah knew she would have to turn into a beggar.

As she watched the sweat that glued to her son's body, she forced the tears back and looked away but the more reason why she looked away was because she immediately felt like a failed mother.
"Guess what?" Adams dared, knowing how much his mother disliked guessing but to his surprise this time around, she made a guess.

"A lady finally stole your heart" Sarah teased and watched Adams rolled his eyeballs.
"No... See!" Adams said, flashing a sheet of paper across her face. Her anxious hands dashed after the paper but Adams teased her even more.

Feigning irritation, Sarah made a mild frown and began walking towards the bed, complaining that she needed time to rest and had no time for Adams and his child's play.
"Mama" Adams said, holding her suddenly from behind.
Sarah smiled.

"You are a big man now. You had better stop acting like a child, what is it that makes you happy?"
"Mama! My admission slip! I have been offered admission" Adams said, announcing not only to mama but also the rats they shared the house with. Well, if and only if the rats were interested in listening.

"Osi gini?" Sarah immediately switched to their native igbo language. She did that when her emotions were extreme.
"Admission... school... education" Adams broke his words, examining each word and the more he did, they sounded strange.

"Ewoooh!" Sarah burst into tears and threw her head-tie away!
"Mama" Adams gasped, shocked at the sight of her shrunk white hair. He didn't think it was a good sight but he loved every bit of shortcoming.

"Mama... Use the head-tie!" Adams said but he didn't look away.
"This boy has finally killed me... So Adams all you are bothered about right now is my old woman hair. I have suffered with my senseless son!"

She cried harder and began rolling from one end of the impoverish room to the other scanty end.
"Where do I get the money for your fees? Ah! money! money! money! Why do you dread my house? Money, what have I done to you? Why won't you come to me?

"Mama... So you are not happy?"
"Tah! Not happy? Every one wants the best for their children but not all have the resources. Sarah! You have suffered" She said and dashed towards her worn- out sack of clothes.
She kept flinging all the wrappers till the very last one, not a single one was worth selling.

She immediately had a mental picture of being chased in the market with people slamming her ugly wrapper on her and shouting "Thief, Thief"
She shook then she heard Abraham laughing lightly.

"Mama!" He started, showing her his teeth again.
"Have you forgotten the essay competition I participated in before graduating high school? The government promised to foot my bills all through college" He finished and waited for the effect of his words on his mother.

This time around, Sarah didn't start with a hearty laugh rather she stamped her feet, bent her back a little and started moving back and forth.
Adams supplied her beats with his hands.

As she danced and as he clapped, she remembered the beautiful times she had with Collins while they were in the early stage of their marriage. As for him, he thought about the things love could do. Love's power and beauty.
But they shared a common thought: that even as the storm of poverty threatens, it is a good thing to sometimes take anchor in the beautiful present.